Direction indicator for motor cars



C. A. OTT.

DIRECTION INDICATOR FOR MOTOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I5, I918.

1,306, l l 8. PatentcdJ une 10, 1919.

BY ATTOR Y tors for r is.

cnsanns a. car, or orr'awa, ansas.

crron-mnrcaro non. Moreno were.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 191$.

Application filed August 15, 191s. Serial; No. 249,

is a s ification.

This invention relates to direction indicators' for motor cars, and more especially to indicators of that class by which trafiic policemen, pedestrians or drivers of cars.

may determine whether the car equipped with the appliance is to continue a particular direction or to turn to the right or ;left.. The object of theinvention is to produce a. simple, eflicient and inexphnsive appliance of the charwter set forth which can be read ily seen at all times and which does not appreciably detract from the appearance of the car. Y Y

With the object named in view, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is. to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1, is a side view of a part of a motor car, equipped with an indicator embodying my invention.

Fig. 2, is an enlarged central transverse section of the indicator.

Fig. 3, is a horizontal section on the line III-J11 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4, is a detached perspective view of one set of appliances for preventing accidental operation of the indlcator.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates a motor car and 2 one of the rear fenders thereof.

Mounted on said fender is a housing comprising a receptacle 3 and a cover 4, t e latter being provided with a longitudinal slot 5 extending transversely of the car.

Extending through said slot and normally occupying a vertical position is a stafl 6 provided at its upper end with a forwardly and rearwardly facing disk 7 which can be readily seen in day time by persons in front or in rear of the car, and said disk is provided with a si al lamp 7 for disclosing the location an adjustment of the indicatolf' at mg otor-Cars, of which the following detail.

The staff 6 is preferably tubular for lightness and also to accommodate electric wlres, not shown, in the event the lamp7 is an incandescent lamp, though this is immaterial as, regards the operation of the indircator and hence is not shown ordescribed in The indicator stafi is pivoted near its lower end within the receptacle on a cross pin 8 and is weighted below said cross pin as at 9 so that it shall stand normally in a vertical position. 'llhe weighted end of the indicator is also provided with a pair of laterally projecting arms 10 for formi tures for attraction to the oles 11 o a air of electro-magnets 12 and 13 dispose at opposite sides of the stafi.

The magnets are mounted upon insulation plates 14 secured at the bottom of the receptacle in any suitable manner, and provided with longitudinal grooves 15 in their lower sides.

The inner ends of the plates 14 are forked and the arms of the forks are providedwith vertical grooves 16 wherein fit slidingly the depending arms 17 of cross rods 18.

wing plates 19 are provided with hin e loops 20 engaging the cross rods 18, and said plates 19 are provided above said hinge loops with angular extensions 21 constituting armatures to be attracted upwardly by the poles of said magnets when the latter are energized, it being understood in this connection that only one magnet will be energized at a time and that the energization of said magnets shall be under the control of the driver of the car. Any particular electrical connection and switch and source of electrical energy may be resorted to, as the same is the work of any electrician and forms no novel part of the invention.

To prevent residual magnetism in the poles from interfering with the gravitative movement of the plates 17 and 19, light armasprings 22 secured to the insulation plates th; swing or oscillation of the indicator staff, by the shoulders 24 of the slide rods 23 resting upon the bottom of the receptacle' and rojecting into the ide grooves 15 of the lnsulation plates. T e inner ends of said slide rods are pivotally connected by links 25 to the lower or weighted end of the indicator staff so that oscillatory movement of the latter shall impart sliding movement to said rods.

In operation, assuming that the operator effects the energization of electro-magnet 12, the pole 11 thereof instantly through its magnetic force, lifts the underlying plates 17 and 19 and at the same time attracts the adjacent armature arm 10 and thereby swings the indicator staff to substantially the position shown by dotted lines. The adjustment of said staff instantly efiects sliding movement of the rods 23, the inoperative one moving inward and the operative one, .v1z. that underlying the attracted plates 17 and 19, sliding outward and disposing its inner or elevated portion below said elevated plates. The instant said magnet is deenergized, the attracted plates 17 and 19 drop upon the'elevated portion of said rod but do not apply sulficient pressure thereon to interfere with the same moving inward under the gravitative return of the stafl to normal or vertical position. The staff can rock but little beyond the vertical position because the shoulder on the other rod will come in contact with its respective or adjacent plate 19, and the stafi' will be prevented from rocking back appreciably in the reverse'direction because the instant the staff attains a substantially vertical position, the springs 22 continue the downward movement of plates 17 and 19 until said plates occupy their initial positions and thus guard a ainst a second outward movement of the un erlying rod 23.

t has been stated that the downward pressure of the plates 17 and 19 will not prevent the return sliding movement of the underlying rod 23. As a precautionary measure, however, the plate 19 is mounted to swing inwardly at its lower end. By thus mounting it, it will be held inwardly in the event the pressure of spring 22 oflers too much frictional resistance to the inward sliding movement of said rod. The energization of the other magnet effects a repetition of the operations described except that the adjustment of the indicator staff is reversed to show that the car is to turn in the reverse direction.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a direction indicator for motor cars which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the object of the invention, and while I have illustrated and comprisin ing from the principle of construction involved or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A direction indicator for motor cars comprising a staff pivoted for swinging transversely of the line of travel, a pair of shouldered slide rods connected to be moved endwise back and forth by said stafi', means for normally locking the staff against oscillatory movement by interce tin the paths of outward movement of t e oulders of said rods, and electro-magnetic means for tripping said last-named means fromthe path of said shoulders.

2. A direction indicator for motor cars a staff pivoted for swinging transverse y of the line of travel, a pair of shouldered slide rods connected to be moved endwise back and forth by said stafi, means for normally locking the stafi against oscillatory movement by intercepting the paths of outward movement of the shoulders of said rods, electro-magnetic means for tripping said last-named means from the path of said shoulders, and yielding means for returning the rod movement preventing means to initial position.

3. A direction indicator for motor cars comprising an indicating stalf pivoted for swinging transversely of the line of travel of the car and provided with a pair of arma-' tures and with means yieldingly holding it upright a pair of electro-magnets for respectively attracting said armatures and thereby oscillating said staff, endwise-s1id able rods connected to said staff for operation thereby and provided with outwardly facing shoulders, and plates extending over said rods and comprising slidable members and pivoted members and adapted to be raised by magnetic force produced by the said. electro-magnets, the swing members being movable toward the staff to facilitate the return movements of the rods and incapable of swinging beyond a predetermined point in the opposite direction to afford positive abutment for the shoulders of said rods and thus prevent appreciable accidental swinging movement of said staff.

4. A direction indicator for motor cars comprising a receptacle extending transversely of and mounted upon the car and provided with a slot, a staff extending through said slot and pivoted within the receptacle and provided at its outer or upper end with an indicator device, a pair of electro-magnets at opposite sides of said rod in a plane below the pivot thereof and adapted for respectively attracting said staff and thereby operating same, a pair of shouldered rods pivotally linked to the lower end of said stafi, a pair of plates mounted for slidsaid plate comprising ivoted members capaing movement and normally standing in the ble of swinging inward from a substantially path of said shoulders to prevent outward vertical posltion and back to said last-named movement of said rods and adapted to be position. I 10 1 5 tripped out of the path of said rods through In testimony whereof I afiix m signature. the energization of the respective magnets; CHARLE A. OTT. 

